Snowed Inn
by Shimmerleaf
Summary: Claire and Mary find themselves stuck with Ann on Christmas Eve due to the snowstorm outside. Gray and Rick find themselves in the exact same situation with Jack. They have to wait until the snow stops before they can leave, so until then they'll have to find ways to entertain themselves. Secret Santa gift!


A/N: Happy Holidays, Moonlit Dreaming! Sorry for the delay but I hope you enjoy this little oneshot~ I had a good idea about what I wanted to write but couldn't never get it to work out the way I wanted, so apologizes if this just seems like one jumbled mess. I hope you enjoy this at least, and if not, I could try again!

Happy Leafing~

* * *

_Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling too. C'mon it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you~_

"Ann, for the love of the Harvest Goddess can you _please_ turn that off?" Claire pleaded, her voice muffled by the table as she burrowed her head further into her arms until her forehead collided with the hard wood. "This is the fifth time already."

The redhead's eye twitched but complied with her friend's request, walking behind the counter to turn off the CD player, cutting off the jolly sounding voice. With the music gone, the only sound that could be heard throughout the empty inn was the howling of the wind outside. Snow continued to fall endlessly, piling up even more and more. There was clearly no way out.

"Where is Doug anyways?" Claire asked, turning her head sideways to rest on top of her arms. "It's weird that we're the only ones here when tomorrow is Christmas."

"He went to drop off a few things at Manna's," Ann answered as she walked over to where Claire sat and pulled out a chair. "Everyone's probably at home preparing for tomorrow. _You_ two are probably the weird ones for being here."

Claire smiled sheepishly at that statement and looked at Mary who was sitting opposite her with a notebook and pen in front of her. The bespectacled librarian glanced up from her work to look both Claire and Ann in the eye before looking away.

Neither of them spoke and silence covered the room once more, making Ann raise an eyebrow at her friends. The redhead stared them both down, wanting an explanation as to why they were here. Ann was actually happy that her friends were with her and that she wasn't snowed in by herself but that didn't change the fact that tomorrow was Christmas and that it was weird for them to have been wandering outside this late at night.

"I had a fight with Jack," Claire admitted, breaking eye contact. "He got mad at me for taking Rick along with me this morning when I went tobogganing at Mother's Hill."

"Did he break his leg again?" Mary piped up while Ann tried to stifle a laugh.

The blonde farmer only frowned and turned her gaze toward the nearest window. "Nah, he fractured his wrist."

"That's not as bad as last year then," Ann added with a grin. "Why was Jack mad at you for that?"

The blonde sighed and returned to resting her head atop her arms on the table top. If she was to be honest, she didn't really know. Her brother had always been protective of his family and friends but Claire didn't think he and Rick were that close, even if Rick was her boyfriend and Jack had to get along with him. Perhaps it had to do with Lilia being concerned over Rick's broken leg last year and having to miss the Christmas party and he didn't want a repeat of that this year? Maybe it was because Popuri would get disheartened about not being able to celebrate Christmas with the rest of the villagers along with her brother and tell Kai about it in her next letter and upon his return to Mineral Town in the summer, would kick Jack for making her sad? Claire really didn't know.

* * *

"She promised last year not to do anything reckless when winter came and now look at what's happened," Jack grumbled, leaning back in his chair. "I can't believe she's my sister sometimes."

"Why not? You're both stubborn as a mule and don't think clearly before acting," Gray commented mostly to himself but within the small confines of Jack's farmhouse, his voice was still easily heard.

"I'm in the wrong here?" the male farmer asked, his voice taking on a defensive tone.

Gray shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't say that."

The third member of the trio stuck inside Jack's farmhouse only watched the two of them continue their banter, barely paying attention to what was being said. He had come to ask Jack if he could help out Popuri with the chickens tomorrow since his wrist was hurt and he didn't want his mother to be troubled but somehow he had ended up being snowed in. A tired sigh left his lips as the snow continued to fall mercilessly outside, adding onto the pile that leaned against the door.

"So Rick, why haven't you broken up with Claire yet?"

The question startled the blonde male and he looked away from the window and at his companions. "Why are you asking such a question?!"

Jack only looked at him with disbelief shining in his eyes. "Last year you ended up with a broken leg because of her and missed out on the Christmas party and this year you have a sprained wrist."

"I'm fine," he muttered, looking down at his bandaged arm. "I'm not going to blame her when she didn't have control of the situation."

"You're a good man," Jack stated, giving him a pat on the shoulder. Rick could only look at him with quizzical eyes.

-Line Break-

"I really don't think that's why Jack's mad at you," Ann concluded, her eyes shining with laughter as the blonde farmer finished telling her theories to her friends. "He's not that type of person."

"Yeah, _you_ would know that," Claire retorted with a roll of her eyes and Mary couldn't help herself but smile a little at that. It was no secret that Ann and Jack, despite being together, would often argue, their topics ranging from why it was snowing when the forecast predicted sunny skies to if the Kappa actually existed and wasn't merely a figment of Jack's imagination. Sometimes their arguments would even get the other villagers involved, mostly Mary and Cliff, though the couple would almost always settle their problem without anyone meddling. Only the Harvest Goddess knows how they managed to get along enough to stay together.

"Of course I would know," the redhead shot back with a knowing smile. "You should just go apologize to him, what with tomorrow being Christmas and all. Besides, you either go back to Forget-Me-Not Valley or apologize to Jack. I'm not letting you stay at the inn."

"You could stay at my house," Mary offered, closing her notebook and putting her pen down. "My parents will be away for another week."

"_Where_ are they anyway? And why are you here?" Claire couldn't help but blurt out. While she had known Mary for quite some time now, the two of them hardly ever spent time alone together. Ann or Gray was always with them, and in the case of the latter, Claire would gladly leave to avoid being a third wheel. She knew the librarian was a bit shy and perhaps soft spoken at times but still had a curious mind full of wonderful ideas. She blinked her eyes and smiled, her mind having registered the black haired librarian's offer. "Thanks but no thanks Mary. I'll just go apologize once this snow stops and we manage to dig our way out. I don't want Jack to be mad at me on Christmas or else he'll never stop reminding me of my failures of this year."

"My parents went to a place called Konohana Town. It supposedly has flowers that are native to that town that can't be seen anywhere else. They offered to take me along but I didn't want to get in the way. Someone has to watch the library too," Mary answered with a soft smile.

Both Claire and Ann nodded their heads at her explanation. This wasn't the first time Basil and Anna went on trips to various islands and it certainly wouldn't be their last either. They always came back with new plant specimens and Mary would use the information her father gathered in her books as random trivia for the readers. She always assured her parents that she didn't mind not going with them, that someone had to watch the library, but both Ann and Claire looked at her with knowing eyes. "You just don't want to leave Gray all by himself near Christmas, don't you?"

From the visible reddening of Mary's cheeks, the answer was obvious, leading to Ann and Claire to grin at the librarian. Both their eyes glinted mischievously, as if Claire's problem had been forgotten as the two of them proceeded to tease the bespectacled female.

* * *

"How long has it been since we've been trapped here?" Rick wondered out loud with a sigh.

"Five hours maybe?" Gray suggested, taking another sip from his mug of hot chocolate. The snowfall hadn't shown any sign of ceasing but at the very least the weather wasn't getting any worse. The electricity had luckily been left alone by the raging weather so the three of them at least weren't freezing, though they _were_ running out of things to do.

"Isn't this the best way to spend Christmas Eve?" Rick and Gray stared at Jack, not feeling amused in the slightest. Once Rick had managed to convince Jack that him being injured wasn't entirely Claire's fault, the three of them had drifted into silence, with only Jack occasionally speaking up. Gray looked tired and when pestered by the farmer, would often snap back and Rick didn't have anything to say at all. He was worried about his sister and mother, worried if they were okay at home, if they were even _at_ home. He honestly hoped neither of them had been caught outside before the heavy snowfall. If they were at home then at least they'd be warm and safe…

"What'll happen if we're still stuck here tomorrow? As much as I like you guys, I rather spend Christmas with Ann."

"I don't want to celebrate Christmas with you like this either," Gray grunted.

"Because Mary's parents are out of town and it'll just be the two of you, right?"

"N-no! What the hell are you suggesting?"

"Nothing, you're the one that thought about it in the wrong way."

With a sigh, Rick shook his head and directed his attention elsewhere, although there wasn't much else to look at. A barely decorated Christmas tree stood in the corner of the room with a few presents underneath it and some lights were hung up around the ceiling. Jack had put on some Christmas music earlier to 'lighten the mood' but after a few songs, the cheery voices of the singers had gotten too annoying to keep listening to and they had made the farmer turn it off.

By now, the sky outside had darken completely, indicating nightfall and snow kept falling as the wind continued to howl. It was hard to tell if the weather was getting worse or better; all three of them just wanted to be able to leave. Jack had a shovel that he could use to dig his way out but it was pointless to try to do so in the midst of the snowfall. All they could do was wait it out first.

* * *

"_I have been so good this year. All I want is one thing. Tell me my true love is here. He's all I want, just for me underneath my Christmas tree. I'll be waiting here, Santa that's my only wish this year~"_ Claire sang out incredibly off key.

"_I hope my letter reaches you in time. Bring me love I can call all mine, 'cause I have been so good this year. Can't be alone under the mistletoe, he's all I want in a big red bow!"_ Ann shouted along with the music. The two of them looked pointedly at Mary, gesturing with their arms for her to join in.

With how dark it had gotten outside and seeing how the snow was still falling, the three of them had drifted slowly into silence. Mary had returned to writing in her notebook while both Claire and Ann stared blankly at the walls. Sleep was always an option but it was _Christmas Eve_, they didn't want to succumb to slumber at such an earlier hour. Eventually Claire had stood up abruptly from where she had been sitting for the past few hours and turned on the Christmas CD, which led to them now.

"_Santa can you hear me? I have been so good this year and all I want is one thing. Tell me my true love is near_," Mary softly sang out, shying away her two friends that were attempting strange dance moves.

_I'll be waiting here. Santa that's my only wish, this year~_

The song ended and the three of them looked at each other with smiles on their faces. It was nice to just be silly for once. Another song started playing and Claire grinned and started singing all over again, not caring that her pitch was off. Ann joined in during the chorus and reluctantly, so did Mary, once again abandoning her notebook.

* * *

_The Next Day._

"Grey, give me the shovel! You're too slow!" Jack complained with his hands stuffed snuggly in the pockets of his jacket. Rick stood behind him, in the doorway of the farmhouse while Grey was at the front of the line, digging the shovel into the snow to create a way out. They were slowly making progress but time was also ticking by. The day had already started, meaning it was already Christmas. None of them wanted to be stuck together for Christmas.

The blacksmith tossed the tool at the farmer, letting him to the front. Steadying his grip on the shovel, Jack went to work on clearing a path from his home to the rest of the town. All those hours spent in the fields had helped him develop arm muscles which aided him in working quite efficiently.

Before too long, the three of them stumbled out of Jack's farm and into town. Everywhere they looked was covered with white. A thick cover of snow buried the path beneath them and some piles could still be seen in front of a few doors. To their surprise though, many of the villagers were walking around chatting merrily, wishing those they passed a merry Christmas. Doug happened to be one such person and upon seeing the three of them, he laughed. "Merry Christmas. The girls should be at the inn still," he informed them, "I dug them out a while ago. Have fun."

His parting words didn't make any sense to them but nonetheless, the three guys headed toward the inn. There were two piles of snow on either side of the entrance but the door was free, so they entered. Christmas music greeted their ears.

_Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh. Through the fields we go, laughing all the way. The bells on bobtail ring, making spirits bright. Oh what fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight~_

Claire and Ann were dancing around the table while Mary sat on top of the table singing along. Seeing the guys standing in the doorway, both Claire and Ann smiled and grabbed their respective boyfriends in an attempt to make them dance along with the cheery Christmas song. Mary simply approached Gray with a smile and took his hand in hers, still singing along with the song.

"Merry Christmas!"


End file.
